Switching mechanism.



I K. I. KIN-GWELL.

SWITCHING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED 3330.14, 1905.

Patented Aug. 29, 191i.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

K. F. KINGWELL.

' SWITCHING MECHANISM. APPLIGATION FILED DBO. 14, 1905.

1,001,650. PatexitedAugzZQJQll.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

v a//v1//5/v70/?: Kenneth FK/rgwe/l,

in; srarne ranirr KENNETH FRANCIS BZINGWELL, OF RUG-BY, ENGLAND, ASSIGNOR 330 GENERAL SELEC- TRIO COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

SWITCHING MECHANISM.

aooreso.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Eatented 29, 191.11..

anism and its object to provide a mecha-- nism which is simple and inexpensive to manufacture and 1s not l able to get out of order.

My invention is especially suitable for application, to meters of the prepayment yp I I have herein shown my invention embodiedin a mechanism comprising a spring controlled lever system adapted to operate the switch or valve mechanism of a meter or other apparatus said lever system being connected to the operating handle through differential gearing, one of the members of which remains locked during part. of the movement of the operating handle,- the inn locking of said member altering the fulcrum or pivoting pointof the main lever of the system and allowing the controlling spring to set theswitch or open the valve with a quick movement so that where the invention is used to operate an electric switch. injurious sparking at the contacts is prevented.

In the accompanying drawings which illustrate this form of my invention applied to a coin-freed electric meter; Figure 1 is a side elevation of the switch operating mechanism; Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the same; Figs. 3 and 4 are similarviews to Fig. 1 showing the positions of the various parts of'the mechanism just prior to the closing of the switch and with the switch closed, respectively.

. In carrying the invention into effect in the form illustrated in the drawings, I provide a spindle 1 having bearings, one situated within the meter and the other at tached to the meter casing This'spindle projects through the casing and is provided with an operating handle. Rigidly secured to this spindle is a drum jor cylirider 3 provided with a longitudinal slot 4, shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1 adapt ed to receive a coin. Surrounding this drum is a cylindrical shell or cas1ng-5 also provided withlongitudinal slots 6 adapted to drum is a disk shell.

. 16 which is pivoted of a differential. gear.

Mounted freely on the same spindle as the '9 provided on its periphery with ratchet teeth and carrying two bevel pinions 10 which gear with the wheel 8- formed on the end of the shell Also mounted loosely on the drum spindle is a hub or boss 11 on which is formed a bevel wheel-12 similar to that on the end of the The disk 9 is mountedbetween the shell and the hub so that the pinions 10 carried by the disk, gear with the wheels 8 and 12. The hub is provided with an outwardly extending arm or lug 13 to which the switch arm 14 carrying the bridging contact of the meter is pivoted, and which is controlled by a spring 15. secured to the casing or other rigid part. The ratchet teeth on the periphery of the disk 9 are engaged by a pawl on a pin 17 at any convenient'point. On the pivot pin 17 is also 'mounted a spring controlled double ended lever 18 one endlS of which cam shaped and engages a stop or projection 1.9 formed on the switch blade 14 the other end being adapted to be raised against the action of the spring 20 by a cam 21 secured to the shaft 22, upon which is also mounted a differential gear such as is described in United States Patent 1T0. 789.028. one member 01" which is shown at 27, thereby permitting of relative movement between thecam and the meter mechanism, so as to lower the cam shaped end '18" of thelever out of the path of the projection 19 on the switch blade. The double ended lever 18 is also provided with a small projection 23 adapted when the cam shaped end of the lever is raised, to lift the pawl 16 out of engagcu'ient with the ratchet teeth on the disk 9. vThe measuring out mechanism of the meter is operated by a mutilated gear or'worm wheel 24 secured to or formed integral with the shell 5 surroul'iding the drum.

The operation of the mechanism above described is as follows: When the slots t and 6 in the drum and its surrounding shell are in register and a coin of the size for which the meterisdesigned is inserted in till the slots the edge of the coin projects slightly from the drum slot so that when the spindle is turned by the operating handle the edge of the coin comes into contact with the shell surrounding the drum and locks the drum and shell together. As the ratchet teeth on the periphery of the disk 9 are engaged by the pawl 16 the disk is held against movement, consequently the pinions 10 carried by said disk cause the hub 11 carrying the switch arm to rotate against the action of its retaining spring 15 in the opposite di rection from the drum. This causes the projection 19 on the switch armto ride over the cam surface on the end 18 of the doubleended lever until it passes beyond said cam when the spring 20 controlling the lever asserts itself and raises the cam so as to prevent the projection on the switch arm from returning until the opposite end of the lever is raised and the cam depressed by the cam 21 on the meter driven shaft. When the cam-shaped end. of the double-ended lever is raised it raises the pawl 16 with it thus freeingthe disk 9. When the disk is freed the retaining spring 15 immediately tends to return the hub to its original position, causing the switch arm to pivot about its projection 19 which is held from returning to its original position by the cam on the double-ended lever 18. This causes the outer end of the switch arm to swing quickly over until the bridging member 25 carried by it makes contact with the fixed terminals 25 of the meter with a snap action.

While the operating handle; is being turned after the insertion of a coin the mutilated gear or worm 24 carried by or with the shell comes into engagement with the wheel 26 of the measuring out mechanism so as to move the cam 21 on the meter driven shaft through a certain predetermined distance out of engagement with the end of the double-ended lever 18. switch is set the current passing through the meter gradually returns the cam 21 until it again comes into contact with the doubleended lever 18, which it lifts until the other end is depressed sufficiently to allow the pro jection 19 on the switch arm to clear the end of the cam on the lever when the retaining spring 15 returns the hub and switch arm quickly to their initial or off position, so that sparking between the contacts and bridging member or breaking the circuit isprevented.

It will be seen from the above description that the movement of the switch blade is only controlled by the operator during a portion of its travel. This is of great advantage as when'it is controlled during the whole of its movement, there is a great liability to 1n ur1ous sparking occurring between the meter contacts and the bridging i member owing to the comparative slowness After the with which the switch contacts would be closed. With the arrangement described above however, no matter how slowly the switch has been moved through the first portion of its travel, directly it has been turned through a certain angle it will close with a snap.

ltwill be obvious that although I have particularly described one embodiment of my invention various alterations might be made in the construction of the details of the mechanism without departing from the spirit of my invention. It will also be obvious that the invention will be equally applicable to other coin freed devices besides electric meters. What ltclaim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is,

1. In combination with a device to be operated, an operating lever therefor, a handle, differential gearing between said lever and said handle, means for locking said gearing to the handle through a portion of the range of movement of said handle, a spring, and means controlled by said spring operative upon the release of said gearing from said handle for completing the movement of said lever.

2.1n combination with a device to be operated, an operating lever therefor, a

handle, means for locking said lever rigidlyto said handle through a portion of the range of movement of said handle, whereby I controlled by said spring for completing the movement'of said lever when released from the handle.

4. In combination, a switch mechanism, an operating handle, a rotatable member, means for locking the handle to said memment of said handle, a spring, and means ber, a differential gear one member of which is secured to one end of said rotatable me1nber, a spring controlled lever system operating said switch mechanism secured to another member of said differential gear the members being normally locked so as to rotate together in opposite directions, and means for releasing said members so that they may rotate independently, substantially as and for the purpose described.

5. The combination of a ,mechanism pivoted to turn about a center, a member having one end pivoted to said mechanism at some distance from said center, circuit controlling means operated by the opposite two ends whereby said member is moved pivotally about the point of engagement during the backward movement of said mechanism.

6. The combination of a switch, an operating mechanism therefor comprising a pair of members pivoted together, a handle, means for locking said handle to said members through a portion of its range of movement, and means operative upon the release of said members from said handle said members of the mechanism causes said member to turn pivotally about the point of engagefor producing a movement of relative to each other.

7. The combination of a switch mecha nism comprising a pair of members pivoted together, a handle and connections between sale handle and said members comprising a dliferential gearing, means for lock; one

.member of said gearing stationary l ing a portion of the movementof the devi .i and for thereafter causing said gearing member to be released, and means controlled by the release of said member for causing one of said pivoted members to move with respect to the other to operate the switch.

8. The combination of a pivoted mechanism, a spring opposing its movement, a

member pivoted to said mechanism, a manually controlled devlce, means connecting 'said mechanism and member to said device sonthat an initial movement of the device causes a corresponding movement of the mechanism andmember, means set in operation b a further movement of said device fo'r isconnecting said mechanism and device, whereupon the mechanism is returned to its original position by the sprin and means engaging said member between its two ends Whereby' a backward movement ment.

In Witness whereof, I have hereunto setv I F. M. BURTON, H. W. CLARK. 

